A drunk man ‘launched a violent attack which led to the defenceless victim’s death 10 days later’, a court was told.

Christopher Singleton, 37, is standing trial accused of the murder of Raich Keith Alcock, following an alleged attack at Mr Alcock’s flat in Accrington.

Prosecutors claim the defendant ‘repeatedly hit’ Mr Alcock to the face with a ‘clenched fist’ and that the 51-year-old was ‘incapable of fighting back, incapable of defending himself and incapable of putting up any resistance whatsoever’.

Mr Singleton, formerly of Derby Street, Accrington, denies murder.

Gordon Cole QC, prosecuting, told the jury at Preston Crown Court that the alleged attack took place both inside and outside Mr Alcock’s flat on Arnold Street in the early hours of September 6 last year.

The court heard that Mr Alcock had been drinking in Accrington town centre with several ‘friends and acquaintances’ and that at one point Mr Singleton ‘took offence’ to him being ‘loud’.

The defendant was also reported to be left ‘angry’ and ‘unhappy’ after Mr Alcock was seen to push Mr Singleton’s left arm.

Mr Cole said that Mr Singleton became ‘aggressive’ towards Mr Alcock and then decided to follow him back home ‘with one aim in mind and that was to inflict violence’.

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The jury was told that when Mr Alcock arrived at the back door to his house Mr Singleton allegedly punched him once to the face, which caused him to bang his head on a wall and ‘knocked him to the ground’.

Mr Singleton is alleged to have then carried Mr Alcock into his kitchen and ‘dropped him onto the floor’, before mistaking ‘snoring’ noises as ‘Mr Alcock laughing at him’.

Mr Cole told the jury that Mr Singleton then stood over Mr Alcock, grabbed him by his top and punched him with a clenched fist so he ‘banged his head on the kitchen floor’.

He said: “He did that on more than one occasion, picking him up, hitting him and knocking him back.

“It must have been completely obvious, whatever stage of inebriation you are in, that Mr Alcock was incapable of fighting back, incapable of defending himself and incapable of putting up any resistance whatsoever.

“To do that to somebody, repeatedly hitting them to the face, when he was clearly unconscious reflects at the very least an intention on the part of this defendant to inflict really serious harm.”

The jury was told that no ambulance was called until Mr Alcock’s friend Peter Cornish found him at 10.30am the next morning ‘semi-conscious slumped on his kitchen floor’.

Raich Alcock

Mr Alcock was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital and then later transferred to Royal Preston with ‘serious head injuries’. He passed away 10 days later on September 16 – the day of his 52nd birthday.

A post-mortem carried out by Home Office pathologist Dr Naomi Carter found Mr Alcock suffered a subdural haemorrhage and contusions to the brain ‘consistent with blows to the back of his head’, the jury heard.

Mr Cole said Mr Alcock also suffered a ‘large fracture running round the base of the skull’ and fractures to both plates of the bones above the eye sockets which are ‘consistent with the blows caused by the defendant’.

When Mr Singleton was arrested and interviewed by police he said he had only punched Mr Alcock once on a car park and it was in ‘self-defence’.

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However, Mr Cole told the jury: “Essentially, and it remains to be seen, the defendant seems to be saying that he denied any other blows and we say that’s not the truth and the medical evidence supports that assertion it’s not true.

"We say this was a violent attack on Raich Alcock, a man in his own home who was rendered unconscious. He suffered fatal head injuries and at the very least this defendant intended to inflict really serious harm.”

Proceeding

Raich Alcock had been drinking in town with friends

Raich Alcock had been drinking in Accrington town centre in the hours before the alleged attack, the jury heard.

Prosecutor Gordon Cole QC said Mr Alcock had spent the evening of September 5 with a ‘number of friends and acquaintances’ who are ‘homeless or who live on the streets and spend a lot of time consuming alcohol or who are alcohol-dependant’.

The jury was told homeless man Peter Cornish, a friend of Mr Alcock, was interviewed twice by police.

Mr Cole said Mr Cornish stated that he had been drinking with friends in Accrington town centre and that Mr Alcock joined the group at around 10pm.

They later went off to a local Tesco store to buy some whiskey and were seen on CCTV at around 1.20am on September 6.

The jury was told that Mr Cornish described Mr Alcock as being ‘loud’ and that Christopher Singleton ‘took offence and behaved in an aggressive manner towards Mr Alcock’.

Mr Cole said the group were then joined by John McCabe – known as ‘Burnley John’ – and a young teenager before Mr Cornish was ‘able to calm down’ the defendant.

A few minutes later Mr Alcock was then seen to push the left arm of Mr Singleton, which left him ‘angry’ and ‘unhappy’.

The jury was told that Mr Cornish thought Mr Singleton would ‘strike’ Mr Alcock, before the latter decided to walk off along Broadway towards his home.

Mr Cole said Mr Singleton also walked off in the same direction and said he was ‘following him back’ home.

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He told the jury: “This defendant could very easily have gone off home but he chose not to do that. He decided to follow the deceased with one aim in mind and that was to inflict violence.”

Mr Cornish was re-interviewed by police after Mr Alcock’s death on September 16 and claimed he had spoken to Mr Singleton the next day and that the defendant told him he ‘only hit [Mr Alcock] once’.

A young teenager, who was with the group in Accrington on the night of September 5, claimed Mr Alcock and Mr Singleton had got into an argument over a ‘bottle of whiskey which had been bought from Tesco’.

The witness said she saw Mr Alcock head home and that Mr Singleton was ‘following’ him in an ‘angry way’, Mr Cole told the court.

She told police that at one point Mr Alcock stopped when he got to The Broadway pub and tried to ‘placate’ Mr Singleton by ‘handing over voluntarily’ a £20 note, a cash card and a mobile phone.

However, the defendant reportedly said he didn’t want the money and returned all the items apart from the mobile phone.

The teenager said both she and ‘Burnley John’ followed Mr Alcock back to his home and witnessed Mr Singleton allegedly punch him at the back door.

The jury was told that Mr Singleton then ‘decided that they had to get Raich Alcock into the house’ with the help of Burnley John, before the defendant launched another attack inside.

Mr Cole told the court the teenager grabbed hold of Mr Singleton and ‘dragged him out of the kitchen’ but the defendant ‘repeatedly tried to get back in’.

The jury heard that at some point Burnley John ‘had hold of Mr Alcock’s mobile phone’ and gave it to Mr Singleton before they left the house.

The teenager claimed she saw Burnley John and Mr Cornish in the town centre with Mr Singleton the next day and that the defendant said to her: “Do you like my new phone? It’s that man’s from last night. Don’t tell anyone about it. If the police are asking for me, you don’t know me”.

Mr Cole said the owner of Mr Alcock’s rented property later tried to call his mobile phone ‘which at this stage was in the hands of the defendant’.

He told the jury that Mr Singleton answered the phone and ‘pretended that he was Raich Alcock to make sure no suspicion fell on him’.